PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Scott Banks (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Buddy Stevens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Banks comes to the cage accompanied by Tech N9ne- Slacker . The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Banks
vs
Stevens

187 cm
27
180 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

155 cm
19
170 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

5th Round Clothing
Brute

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Scott Banks!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Buddy Stevens!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fray, Micheangelo Fripello and Roger Salmon.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stevens slips a jab and a cross from Banks.
Stevens looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Stevens takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Stevens fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Banks tries to land a front kick but Stevens steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Banks throws a leg kick but Stevens sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Banks goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Banks getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Banks lands a jab to the head.
Banks throws a low kick, looking for Stevens's leg but Stevens calmly moves out of range.
Stevens takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Banks lands with a shot to the body.
Banks misses with a body kick.
Banks lands a lovely overhand right.
Scott Banks seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stevens takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Banks fails to land the takedown.
Banks tries for a takedown but Stevens sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Banks pulls out of a head kick attempt.
No luck for Banks with that takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Scott Banks. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Banks misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Banks shoots in for a double leg but Stevens sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Banks has a takedown stuffed.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Banks keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Banks scores with a nice head shot.
Banks sizes up Stevens with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Banks shoots in looking for a takedown but Stevens manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Banks's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Stevens defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Banks.
Stevens avoids the head kick by Banks.
Banks scores with a jab to the head.
Banks scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Banks moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An inside leg kick from Banks misses.
Banks dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
A jab from Banks does it's job there.

Banks instigates a clinch.
Banks is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Banks wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Stevens has him pressed against the cage.

Banks pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Banks is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Jab, jab by Banks - just one landing.
Banks attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Banks scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Banks misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Banks's corner calls for a 1-2. Banks obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.

Banks moves into range and clinches up with Stevens.

Banks breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Banks tries a low kick but Stevens avoids it.

Banks feints and as Stevens raises his hands in defense, Banks changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Banks sitting in guard, not really doing much.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Scott Banks dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Banks thuds a left hand into Stevens's body.
Banks fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Stevens walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Nice cross by Banks.

Banks gets a double leg takedown into Stevens's guard.
Banks is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Banks seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Stevens for as long as he can get away with.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Banks's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Stevens tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Banks has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Scott Banks just wasn't active enough.
Banks lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

Banks rushes Stevens and presses him up against the cage.
Banks is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Banks wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Banks is trying to break the clinch but Stevens has him pressed against the cage.
Banks tries to break free but Stevens pushes him back against the cage.
Banks looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Banks wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Banks tries to break the clinch but Stevens is controlling the position.
Banks is trying to break the clinch but Stevens is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Banks pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Banks lands with a nice combination. Stevens backs away looking to recover.
Stevens's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Banks connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Stevens scrambles back to his feet.

Banks scores with a takedown into Stevens's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Banks content to stall in guard here.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Stevens trying to keep a closed guard but Banks is proving a slippery customer.
Banks slips nicely into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banks is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Stevens is trying to get back to full guard.
Banks stalling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Scott Banks wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Banks rushes Stevens and presses him up against the cage.
The referee is keeping an eye on Banks - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Banks wants to get back to striking at distance but Stevens won't allow it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Banks tries to circle away but Stevens has him pinned against the cage.

Banks's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Scott Banks dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Banks throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Banks goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Banks fails with a takedown attempt.
Stevens has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
A punch lands to the side of Stevens 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Banks lands a two punch combo.
Scott Banks is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Banks moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Banks lands with a hook. Stevens tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Banks defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Stevens.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stevens on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Banks with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Scott Banks is winning the standup battle so far.
Banks is looking to chop away at Stevens's legs.
Banks throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Stevens on the side of the head.
Banks is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Stevens can do to turn this around?
Stevens on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Banks keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Left hook, right uppercut from Banks.

Banks moves into the clinch successfully.
Banks is trying to force a seperation but Stevens has the dominant position.
Stevens is working for takedown but Banks is calmly controlling the position for now.

Banks's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stevens leaves Banks with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Banks tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Stevens is able to avoid easily.
Banks moves into range and connects with a jab.
Banks lands a nice shot to the body.
Banks lands a jab.
Stevens has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Banks scores with a body shot.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Banks misses with a takedown attempt - Stevens sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Scott Banks. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Banks is defended easily by Stevens.
Stevens misses with an uppercut
and Banks counters with a stiff right hand.
Stevens looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Banks stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Good standup being displayed there by Banks as he connects with a hook.
Jab from Banks.
Banks tries a head kick but it misses.

Banks gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Banks's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stevens takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Banks scores with a sloppy right hand. Stevens should have avoided that one.
Stevens takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Banks throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Banks tries to land a front kick but Stevens steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Scott Banks is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Banks lands a jab to Stevens's midsection.
Banks connects with a body shot.
A leg kick checked by Stevens.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Banks misses with a body kick.
Banks thuds a left hand into Stevens's body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Scott Banks showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Banks has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Colin Fray scores the fight 30:27
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 30:26
Judge Roger Salmon scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Scott Banks!
Scott Banks took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, 5th Round Clothing for their support in the buildup to the fight.